What do you do with your caught fish on the jetty or beach?

[Fattie]

On the river, I typically leave my caught fish on a stringer. I will kill and gut them when I'm ready to head out. I only bring ice if I'm planning on packing up and fishing multiple spots.
On the jetty or beach though, I'm pretty sure i won't be using any stringers. I assume I'll be packing in a cooler or bucket with ice and gutting them as I bring them in.. but I'd like to hear what other people do.
Thanks,
Fat

 

[C_Run]

If I am perch fishing off a beach I take a bucket and bleed the fish into the bucket of water and filet them when I get home. On a jetty or rocks I bring an old towel and get it wet to cover the bled fish and filet them when I get home.

 

[Fattie]

So you're not really gutting, just filleting? At my filleting experience level, i think I'd just puncture all the organs... My fishing target has always been rainbows, and I've never had to fillet them.
I intend to stay out there for hours, and i can't leave the meat out that long without ice. Maybe I'll just have to make a couple shorter trips instead. Or more likely I'll just keep the cooler in the truck and do some extra hiking.
Thanks for your input!

 

[LingFace]

I fillet my fish when I get home. I carry a 5 gallon bucket with soda bottles full of ice and bleed the fish as soon as I catch them unless:

If I am fishing near a tide pool, I sometimes put them on a stringer and secure them in the pool. You want to be extra careful that the tide doesn’t come in and set your catch free.

Filleting your fish is pretty easy to learn from online videos for free. If you can do one you can do most. And ground fish/surf perch have thicker bones than trout and salmonids so it’s easy to follow the skeleton with the knife.

 

[Fattie]

Thanks, that's very helpful!

 

[C_Run]

Keep your knife very sharp, too. I have sucked at filleting but, the more practice you get, the better you get at it.

 

[LingFace]

Keep your knife very sharp, too. I have sucked at filleting but, the more practice you get, the better you get at it.

Which is a good reason to fish more!

 

[LingFace]

One reason to fillet surf perch and greenling is that you can inspect the flesh for seal worms. Just remove the ones you find and cook the ones you don’t.

 

[nikita_pdx]

I where a back pack cooler...They're cheap and easy to carry around. It's easier to carry tackle in one hand, and a rod in the other, with all your fish on your back, never having to be taken off. Plus they stay fresh with ice. Some backpack coolers have extra pockets so you don't need to bring a tackle box either.
Although intended for drinks, this will hold 10-15 surfperch easy. Couple handfuls of ice and get on the water.

https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Caster-Insulated-Backpack-Cooler/dp/B07M5C5QTY

A pain to clean though